Engraving machine



De 2, 1952 w. H. wELLENsTElN 2,619,877

ENGRAVING MACHINE Filed oct. 2, 1951 INVENTOR WILLIAM /A l/VELLENSTE/N www4/WL; L):

Patented Dec. 2, 1,7952

UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE .l

ENGRAVING MACHINE William H. Weuenstein, Schenectady, N. r.v Application October 2, 1951, Serial No. 249,359

(C1. co-13.2)

` 1 Claim. 1

'This invention relates to an engraving machine.

All engraving machines with which I am familiar are mechanically complex units which depend upon the action of linkages or their mechanical equivalents to translate the movement of the tracer head to the cutter head. Unless precision work of a high degree of accuracy is required, engraving can be performed by a machine, such as I have invented, which does not have recourse to linkages.

The principal object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a machine capable of engraving by translating movement from the tracer head to the cutter head without the use of intervening linkages.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended. claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of an engraving machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of such machine with parts cut away -to more clearly show the elements;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. 4 is a partial plan View of the copy plate and clamping spacer illustrating the method of spacing t-he letters, and;I

Fig. 5 is a partial plan view of the work holder with the work pi-ece attached thereto.

Reference is now made to Figs. 1 and 2 in which a frame, generally indicated as I0, comprising a base plate II, upright supports I2, and parallel bars I 3, serves to carry a motor I4 mounted upon a knurled flat plate I5, which spans bars I3 and is slidable longitudinally along the frame in either direction in response to manual action of the operator. Rotary electric motor I-4 is equipped with conventional power leads I6 and starting switch Il. Dependent from the m-oto-r housing and operatively connected with the motor is a cutter head I8 which carries a rotary engraving cutting tool I9 for th-e engraving operation. Bracket is attached to plate I5 and extends downwardly therefrom and inwardly under the engraving tool to carry tra-cer head ZI which is provided with a spring-urged stylus 22. Tracer head 2| and cutter head I8 are arranged one above the other so that the engraving tool I9 and stylus 22 are in exact vertical alignment.

Base plate II is provided with a slot 23 rectangular in cross section, which extends longitudinally through-out the plate for the reception of a copy plate or template 24. Copy plate 24 may be positioned longitudinally in the slot by the operator as desired. Parallel with slot 24 is a guide groove 25, arcuate in cross section, which slida-bly receives a guide leg 26 conventionally joined to the clamping spacer 2l. Spacer 2l has a screw 28 by means of which said spacer may be clamped tightly against copy plate 24 to hold it in desired positioned in relation to the base plate II.

Upright supports I2 are formed with slots 29 adjacent their tops for the reception of a work holder 30 (-see Fig. 5) which may be slidably inserted therein. Holder 30 is provided with recesses 3I at its opposite ends to engage stops 32 extending through slots 3I. A work piece, for example a name plate, will be screwed to the holder by running screws 34 into pre-formed threaded screw hol-es 35 (see Fig. 5) in the holder. The location of holes 35 and the s-crew holes in the work pieces are important since they serve to position the work piece in proper rel-ation to the engraving to-ol. Addit-ional screw holes 35 are shown in the work holder for use in connection with work pieces of different lengths.

In operation, holder 30, with a work piece 33 secured thereto, is inserted into slots 29 in uprights I2 and locked into position. The operator then slides the motor and its dependent assembly along bars I3 until cutting tool I9 is positioned over the work pie-ce. Copy plate 2'4 is thereupon shifted in its slot until the character to be copied is located directly und-er stylus 22. Spacer 2l is then clamped into position by means of screw 28 to hold co-py plate 24 tightly in working position. It is important that spacer 2l be clamped against copy plate 24 so that its right edge 36 (as seen in Fig. 4) is accurately aligned with the left marginal line of the letter to be copied. In Fig. 4, this would mean that if the letter G is to be copi-ed, edge 36 would be aligned with marginal line 3l to the left of the letter G. The copying i-s a simple manual operation. The operator merely moves the motor so that the associated stylus follows in the character to be copied and the rotary cutter forms the character in the work piece.

Upon completion of the copying of G, spacer 2l is loosened slightly and moved one space to the right as seen in Fig. 4. Such movement lines up edge 36 with the line between G and H, and thereby provides the spacing of the letters. The copy plate is next shifted for the copying of the following letter. If this letter should be 1,

line 38 would be brought under edge 36, and spacer 21 ,again clamped upon the plate. It is, of course, necessary that the operator be careful not to let the holder be moved out oi position while ther copy plate is shifted.

It Will be appreciated that the utility and range of the engraver can be extended by providing additional series of characters on the reverse side of -cODy plate 24.

While there has been hereinbefore described an yapproved embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that many and various changes and modifications in form, arrangement of parts, and details of construction thereof maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and that all such changes and modications as fall Within the scope of the appended claim are contemplated as a part of this invention.

What I claim is:

In an engraving machine, a base .plate having a longitudinal slot therein, a copy -plate inthe slot, clamping means attached to the base plate tolock the copy plate inadjusted` position, a vertical supportat each end of the-hase plate 'having a transverse slot in its inner side, a pair of parallel bars connecting the tops of the supports `at equal distances yfrom the base plate, a work holder detachably mounted in said Yslots and parallel with the base, a plate sldably supported on the bars, said plate having a cutting head centrally dependent therefrom between the bars and in engagement With the Work holder, driving means for said cutting head, a bracket secured to the plate and dependent therefrom outside of said bars, the bracket having a turned-in portion lying beneath the Work holder, anda tracer head on said portion in engagement with the copy plate.

VVILLIAlW H. WELLENSTEIN.

REFERENCES CTE) The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 696,951 Eaton Apr. 8, 1902 1,607,895 Karr Nov. 23, 1926 2,057,820 Corwin Oct. 20, 1936 2,303,006 Swire Nov. 24, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 260,211. Great Britain May 18, 1926 '284,471 Great Britain Feb. 2, 1928 

